Revenge Comes Calling and Isle of Deceit by R.J. Rosatte

Two episodes this week! On Tuesday's episode (102) of the GSMC Book Review Podcast I interviewed J.D. Sanderson about his debut novel, A Footstep Echo. On today's episode (103) I was happy to welcome R.J. Rosatte back to the podcast to talk about his two follow-up Katie and Malone novellas. If you recall, R.J.'s first interview was in April as part of the collection of authors who wrote novellas for the Tawnee Mountain Mystery series. In his contribution, Dark Side of the Mountain, we were introduced to Katie Douglas and Casey Malone. Katie and Casey survived the adventures they encountered in that story, but little did they know that was only the beginning.

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Katie Douglas and Casey Malone first met at the Tawnee Mountain Resort, she an inspecting engineer, he a relaxing mystery novelist. Together they discovered a kidnapping plot on the mountain. As they tried to unravel the mystery, they uncovered a plot to bomb the high society wedding of the Wittenaur family being held at the resort. An imprisoned Mafia Don vowed revenge on Robert Wittenaur, the former DA that sent him to prison for life and had set in motion the plot to murder the entire family and guests at the wedding. After thwarting both of these plots in an explosive climax to the story, Katie and Casey went their separate ways, promising to get together again.

Now, Katie is on her way to spend what she hopes will be a romantic weekend at Casey’s mountain-top retreat in Virginia. Before their evening even begins, the long reach of the mob interrupts their solitude promising that no good deed will go unpunished. Vowing to get even for the couple’s interference at the Tawnee Mountain Resort, the perpetrators of both plots take aim at Katie and Casey. As they dodge Mafia hitmen with the aid of a mysterious caller, Katie and Casey fight for their lives when Revenge Comes Calling. (Source)

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Katie Douglas and Casey Malone, having survived revenge attacks from the Mafia and a scheming financier, are rewarded for thwarting plots aimed at guests of the famed Tawnee Mountain Resort. Billionaire owner Raymond Elliot has sent them on an all-expense-paid, month-long vacation to his private-island retreat in the Bahamas. But the couple, who are just beginning to enjoy their budding romance, finds it hard to relax in the tropical paradise when bodies keep washing up on the shore. Even more perplexing, the islanders won’t talk about the strange goings-on that Katie and Casey encounter.

When they discover that the supervisor of the work crew assigned to build a private airstrip on the island has secret activities that he is willing to do anything to hide, they find themselves targets once more. They seek to solve the mysterious deaths and get to the bottom of who Jake Peters really is and why this beautiful piece of heaven has become an Isle of Deceit. (Source)

Since these are novella length, R.J. is able to pack a lot of action into a fairly short amount of reading time. Katie and Casey go through quite a bit in these two stories, and yet they managed to maintain senses of humor throughout, while also getting to know each other better. You could definitely say they have an odd dating history.

Genres:

• Mystery
• Thriller/Suspense
• Romance

What I enjoyed:

• The fast-paced nature of both books. They are both quick reads, and the level of action keeps the reader flipping pages. These would be great vacation or weekend reads when you are looking for something quick and entertaining.
• Katie is a kick-butt character. First of all, she's an engineer twice over, so she's smart and capable. She's also independent and perfectly capable of defending herself in a physical manner.
• Casey is just as capable, although not quite as physical, but he is also perfectly fine with Katie being the butt-kicker of the relationship.
• Watching the relationship between these two characters evolve through the stories. There are more novellas to come, so more developments in their relationship. They don't have a lot of time between murders and mysteries to solve, but they're doing pretty well figuring out the relationship stuff.

Quotes:

• "'I don't know what I'm trying to say. It's just...I like being around you, being with you, even if we get shot at occasionally, and...you know.'" -Casey in Revenge Comes Calling
• "'Just what I always wanted to do,' she replied. 'Get shot at, run people off the road and dodge Mafia hitmen. Plus make deals with alleged kidnappers, who, by the way, probably won't keep their end of the bargain.'" - Katie in Revenge Comes Calling
• "'Good title for  yoru next book, Malone,' Katie said as they followed along. 'Expect the Unexpected!' Casey laughed. 'That's the headline for this entire holiday.'" -Isle of Deceit

Where to find R.J. Online:

• Facebook: @rosattewriting
• Twitter: @PaxusKing
• Amazon Author Page: R.J. Rosatte
• GoodReads: R J Rosatte

Author Bio:

Source

A native of Prince Edward County, Ontario, his careers have included being an infantry officer in the Canadian Army Reserves, economics teacher at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario, a long-haul truck driver and businessman.

He has travelled all forty-eight lower US states, eight Canadian provinces, Italy, Mexico and most of the Caribbean. He currently resides in Bayside, Quinte West, Ontario with his wife, Wendy, and their Westie, Molly. (Source)

To hear today's interview with R.J., please click here.

To hear his first interview, please click here.

Dark Side of the Mountain by R.J. Rosatte

Like Episode 74, Episode 75 of the GSMC Book Review Podcast features an interview with one of the Tawnee Mountain Mysteries series authors. The Tawnee Mountain Mysteries is a set of 7 mysteries by 7 different authors, all taking place at the final destination of the Tawnee Mountain Resort. This time I spoke with R.J. Rosatte about his book, Dark Side of the Mountain.

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Katie Douglas thinks doing a mechanical inspection job at the Tawnee Mountain Resort is going to be a working vacation. But that’s before three young mountain bikers go missing while riding the trails of the mountain and a ransom note is delivered.

Partnering with a charming guest of the resort, novelist Casey Malone, Katie soon discovers there is a twisting plot possibly involving the missing men’s girlfriends and perhaps even the FBI.

When their investigation is complicated by the discovery of bomb making material in a cave on the mountain and the threat of an approaching hurricane, Katie and Casey go into overdrive to find the missing men and prevent what could be a devastating attack on an unknown target.

As Hurricane Patrick pays a rare visit to inland New Jersey, the story reaches an explosive climax as they and the staff of Tawnee Mountain Resort deal with both of these threats. (Source)

As with Cassidy's Deadly Exit, Dark Side of the Mountain is a standalone novel, so can be read with  or without the others, and the series doesn't have to be read in any particular order. This book introduces the characters of Katie Douglas and Casey Malone (Katie and Malone), and R.J. has already written two more novellas with these characters, the first of which was released the same day as the Tawnee Mountain Mysteries (April 16, 2018).

Katie and Casey haven't met before their separate trips to the Tawnee Mountain Resort. They fall into an easy rapport and are soon amateur sleuthing their was through multiple adventures. As characters they compliment each other well, and while there is definite chemistry between them this is by no means a romance (maybe that's the next book!).

Genres:

• Mystery
• Thriller/Suspense
• Anthology

What I enjoyed:

• Katie and Casey's relationship. They are one of those couples, whether romantic or platonic, who fall very quickly into an easy and comfortable relationship and seem to have known each other forever.
• In the interview R.J. spoke some about all of the traveling he has done and how this has helped him with locations for his books. You can also see that trait in the character of Casey, who seems to know a little bit about seemingly everything, but remains charming rather than condescending.
• The fact that Katie is an engineer with Master's Degrees in both mechanical and electrical engineering. Go women in STEM!
• Getting to know some of the secondary characters that appeared in Marla's book, but now from R.J.'s perspective. This was a little strange, actually. It was also quite fascinating to see how two different authors wrote the same characters.

Quotes:

• "'Would you like to go spelunking?' he asked.
  'What?' Katie raised her eyebrows. 'Go wandering around in dark caves when who knows what is lurking around up there?'
  'We could solve a mystery,' baited Casey.
  'Or get killed.'"
• "When are you ever going to get a chance to write.'
  'Oh, I'm doing that now,' Casey answered. He glanced around at the resort and all the guests. 'Lots of material, all over the place.'"

Where you can find R.J. online:

Facebook: @rosattewriting

Twitter: @PaxusKing

Amazon Author Page: R.J. Rosatte

GoodReads: R J Rosatte

Author Bio:

Source

A native of Prince Edward County, Ontario, his careers have included being an infantry officer in the Canadian Army Reserves, economics teacher at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario, a long-haul truck driver and businessman.

He has travelled all forty-eight lower US states, eight Canadian provinces, Italy, Mexico and most of the Caribbean. He currently resides in Bayside, Quinte West, Ontario with his wife, Wendy, and their Westie, Molly. (Source)

If you're intrigued by the Tawnee Mountain Mysteries and Dark Side of the Mountain then today is your lucky today as I have 3 copies from R.J. to give away! All you have to do is go to either our Facebook or Twitter pages and share the episode with R.J.'s interview, or go to Instagram and comment on that post. Simple as that: just comment on, share, or retweet Episode 75 and you'll automatically be entered to win Dark Side of the Mountain! 

To hear the interview with R.J., please click here.